Doug G. reports:
Legendary jazz pianist, Herbie Hancock, has won a Grammy for best recording of 2007, River: The Joni Letters. I have not heard it (since I typically shy away from vocal recordings), but, according to The New York Times, the award caused some controversy, since Herbie is not a pop/shlock performer, but (horrors) a real jazz musician. They say: "Though the choice of Mr. Hancock may stoke criticism that Grammy voters are out of step with pop music’s cutting edge, the decision was defended backstage. Vince Gill, the country superstar who lost out to Mr. Hancock in the album of the year field, said Mr. Hancock was 'hands-down a better musician than all of us put together.'" Quite so, Mr. Gill. An ant salutes a lion.
Doug G. reports: 
4 comments:
"An ant salutes a lion"? In writing about Vince Gill and Herbie Hancock in such terms, Doug Groothuis is being more than a bit overstated and harsh here, I think (and yes, I have been guilty, and have had to repent of, the same sins too, and still have to at times). Now, I agree with Doug that jazz music is more compositionally complex than country music. Perhaps even more creative, in *some* (not all) ways. I am not arguing for the validity of complete subjectivity, when it comes to music. Classical music takes more thought, effort, time, and overall emotional investment to listen to than punk rock (and I write this as a fan of some '70s and '80s-era punk rock, but still, the point remains). Therefore, I'm not saying that all music is equal, or even that musical quality is *completely* in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. However, for Doug Groothuis to state that Herbie Hancock is a musical "lion," while Vince Gill is an "ant," shows a lack of respect for Mr. Gill and also a lack of careful thoughtfulness as a music listener on Doug's part. As a fellow Christian, I find his comment especially sad, in light of Vince's wonderful humility concerning Herbie's win over him at the Grammies.
I think you misunderstood. Doug was quoting Vince himself. Vince is the one who made that quote. Doug was just applauding it.
z
Zach, where is that "ant" and "lion" quote from Vince Gill? In Doug's post, I do see that Vince mentioned Herbie Hancock as being "a better musician than all of us put together." As I wrote in my last post, I think that Vince is being very humble here. However, I don't see Vince describing himself as a musical "ant" and Herbie as a "lion." From what I see in Doug's post, those terms seem to come from the man himself. As such, they seem harsh to me and lacking in careful musical thought. Did I miss something somewhere (a sincere question)?
Chris,
Sorry, I stand corrected. You are right...
z
Post a Comment